The Only One Who Knows

By Lisa M Matlin
** Publication Date 3 March 2026 **
​4 stars




Small fishing towns in Australia couldn’t be more foreign to me. To Minnow Goodman, it’s her home. Where she was raised and where she runs back to when things in the city get rough. There are lots of memories there. Both good and bad. 


Minnow’s mom disappeared many years ago, leaving Minnow and her brother Heath alone with their quixotic father. He was a fisherman, as most men were in the Bay. He ran a charter fishing boat. After the disappearance of his wife, his mind began to fall apart. Until one day, he disappeared as well.


After that it was just Heath and Minnow. And now Minnow has returned. To a town full of secrets that maybe she doesn’t want to uncover. Missing people, shark attacks, men with too much testosterone. But this is her town and she’s going to unearth those secrets one by one.


Really compelling story that will keep you turning the pages. Minnow is a very imperfect character. She loves her brother, but she doesn’t love the aura of her hometown. She wants to bring the domestic violence issues and strange goings on to light to maybe save the town.


I enjoyed this. I found it to be a very quick read but interesting. This isn’t a neatly wrapped package. Everyone in this story is broken or imperfect in some way. The nature of the fishing business and the ancestral history are fascinating. It’s books like this that transport you to a completely different place and offer you a look at something you might never have experienced. That’s what I liked most about it. 


Not for the faint of heart. This one has it all - violence, murder, crime.